


Letters and Reasons

by Bexxx



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-14 01:39:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1247974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bexxx/pseuds/Bexxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dear Mom and Dad, <br/>Sold my soul. <br/>Much love, Lendri</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bands of sunlight danced down to the village through the shifting branches of the the trees far above. There was a strong wind blowing up from the south, carrying with it the taste of sea salt. Naia sat before the door of her home and watched the path, idly carving a piece of bone into a flower. Rounding the bend of the road she saw the familar silhouette of her husband. He had gone to the crossroads that morning to meet the coastal traders that were the village's only connection with the rest of Tamriel. They showed up around the end of each month, bearing trade goods, and more importantly to the couple, letters. Even at this distance the smile was plain on her face, and her heart leapt. They hadn't had a letter in months. With all the wars going on, a little thing like a letter was even more easy to lose than it ever had been. Bandits were rampant, ships and caravans got attacked or seized, on top of the usual dangers of the courier losing the letter, or getting lost, or robbed, or even killed.

"One letter this time," he said, "And it's only a month and half old."

Together they sat on the stone steps while Naia broke open the wax that sealed the parchment. Sondis was from a tribe much deeper in the forest and had never learned letters, so she read it aloud.

"Well, he writes, _'By the time you read this, I will be on my way home. '_ Oh, that will be wonderful."

Sondis looked thoughtful. "I wonder how he will have changed."

Naia looked askance at him. She knew the 'Dragonborn' business bothered him in a way he found difficult to put into words. But this wasn't the time to bring it up. She continued reading. " _'The winters here in Skyrim are fearsome and Teldryn and I both think it's as good a time as any to visit Valenwood._ ' Teldryn? Who is that?"  
"I don't think he mentioned that name in any of his other letters."

"Sounds like a Dunmer name. Here, he continues, _'Have I told you about Teldryn? I never know if you get all my letters. For a while we were only partners in crime (but not bad crime) and now we're happy together. Soon we can all meet in person. How about you and Father? Is everything alright? You're all still there aren't you? You and the tribe. Sometimes I worry the Thalmor have all gotten to the village but that's foolish, you're too well hidden for that.'_ "  
"He ought not be worrying," Sondis said. "The Thalmor don't want a swampy part of the forest like this. The trees wouldn't let them through either. But it's kind of him to think of us."

Naia went on. " _'So the most interesting thing that happened today is that I saw a whale. A whale is a kind of swimming animal. It looks like a fish, gray, larger than a ship. Sometimes it jumps out of the water, which would have been beautiful if that hadn't turned over the boat of some fishermen. The water in Skyrim is so cold, even in summer, that they would have died if they hadn't been Nords and used to freezing their nethers off. We took a boat from the camp on shore and helped them. They were glad to be alive but not even one of them appreciated the joke of being fished out of the water and being fishermen at the same time. I think Teldryn would have laughed (or rolled his eyes morelike) but didn't, because he's polite, and wouldn't want to seem to be having fun at their misfortune._ "

Sondis chuckled. "That bit is Lendri all over," he said.

"So Teldryn is a 'he'."

"What of it?"

"Well, Dunmer are...awfully fond of heirs. All those house names that stretch on for hundreds of years."

"You think that could make things difficult for them."

"I don't know. Perhaps."

"That's the kind of thing where you have to wait and see which way the cat jumps. If he's not from one of the more important clans it might not matter to his family at all."

"I hope you're right." The writing was slightly blurred, and she turned it to the light. " _Also I got a dog, named Vigilance. It's not a good name and I've been trying to get him to answer to Rags, which goes with his fur. He nips Meeko's tail and sometimes even Teldryn's ankles but he is a good dog at heart, I think, and will learn. How is Jeet?'_ I guess it was too much to hope for that he'd just forget about Jeet."

Jeet was the family's tamarin. She had been possessed of a brass collar and a magnificent mustache, but she had been dead for months. Her death had been particularly heartbreaking, involving her managing to break into some poisoned bait that had been set aside for traps.

"He'll understand."

" _'I couldn't bring either of the dogs because the Captain said dogs don't do well on boats. I left them with the Blacksmith, Balimund, who is spoiling them with hambones.  
Hambones aside, I have a piece of news neither of you are going to like. Part of the reason why we're returning to Valenwood is because I ended up needing to pledge my soul to serve Herma Mora for eternity while I was in Solsthiem.'_ Oh Gods, no! Why would he do that? _Eternity is too much! But some of the old shamans, if I could find one, could break the pact. Don't worry, because I have a plan. See you in a few months. Love from Lendri.'_ "

Sondis was silent for a moment. "He's an idiot," he said. "Well meaning, but an idiot. Of all the Daedra to give your soul to, you never give your soul to Godsdamned Herma Mora!"

"We don't know the whole story, love."

He shook his head. "I know. I feel like this is going to turn out to be related to being Dragonborn."


	2. Chapter 2

Lendri was wandering around the docks in Rihad, trying not to worry too much that he'd lost track of where the ship was, and consequently where Teldryn was, and that he had to be back at the ship in a half hour, or it would leave for Anvil without him.

"I should probably start panicking now. Or at least soon."

He climbed a stack of crates to see better over the teeming crowd. Seagulls wheeled and called overhead in the blue sky, while traders and sailors swarmed over the boardwalk below. It was beautifully warm. Being back in a warm place felt even better than he'd remembered it. The bay bristled with masts, but with the sails down, he couldn't tell which boat was the one he needed to find. He turned around, looking down the shore in the other direction, but all the boats looked the same at that distance. He turned back, considering asking someone, despite his imperfect grasp of the language.

"Lendri!" The crates rattled. He glanced down and smiled.

"Oh, hey Teldryn."

"Quit twirling around up there and get back to the ship."

"I couldn't find it." Teldryn was rushing off almost before he could jump down. Lendri hurried after him,

"And by the way, some messenger came by the ship wanting to give you a letter. The captain asked around and that's when I realized you were gone."

"I was going for a walk. I got lost. I was trying to get back, honest."

"What were you thinking, the ship is all the way on the other side of the dock, we'll be lucky if they don't throw our stuff on the shore and leave. We'll be lucky if they throw our stuff on the shore at all, instead of just leaving with it! Come on, run."

On the docks with so much going on, no one really paid much mind to the two elves running by, but that also meant they had to dodge around carts, conversations, and others frantically trying to catch their own ships. The tide was turning, going out, and most of the ships were leaving. The next ebb tide would be at midnight, and few captains wanted to sail in the dark. In the end, it turned out Teldyrn and Lendri, at least, need not have worried. One of the other passengers, a noble from Cyrodill, had purchased a horse who was proving very averse to the idea of going up a gangplank, which was proving a difficult truth for the noble to digest. Lendri leaned over the ship's rail with a few other passengers and crewmen, watching standoff. The captain was standing by, looking frustrated.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ennius, but I can't force that animal onto the ship. And I won't risk any of my crew trying. I can get a man from one of my land-based trade operations to bring it to Anvil."

"That stallion cost me 3000 septims, and that's not even counting the inflation for the exchange rate. I am a very important man, Captain Azansur, and I wont stand to have my property mistreated. Taken along on a caravan, indeed! I paid for transport on this ship, and at the time you said the fee included storage of my belongings."

"I said storage within reason. A horse isn't within reason. Not to mention I don't usually accept passengers' animals on my ship."

"When the sea gets choppy it will slide around and end up turning somersaults all over the deck anyway," Lendri commented. His remark fell rather awkwardly into a lull in the conversation, and he moved back, hiding partly behind the burly shoulder of a nearby Orc. Despite this, Lord Ennius glanced up and and managed to pick him out among the others, and shoot him a disapproving look.

"Horses aren't very easy to transport by ship. They have to be kept in hobbles and blinders most of the way. They make a mess. They grow unhealthy for want of exercise. They're not meant for sea travel!"

"I'm not giving this beast to your caravan so it can be used as a pack animal!"

"Are we going to wait all day for this whining?" Muttered an Imperial woman, turning away from the rail in disgust. 

Lendri looked down into the gently rippling water of the bay. It was rather murky, but a large, ruffly red fish was swimming around, snapping at the fruit rinds and other bits of detritus floating in the water. He'd never seen a fish of that size, and hung far out over the rail to get a closer look. A hand grabbed the back of his collar, and he stepped back.

"Don't be falling over the side." It was Teldryn.

"Really, don't," One of the crewmembers added. SHe was a Redguard woman in her fifties, watching the captain's argument with interest."All the sewers drain into the bay. Hadj fell in when we got here last week and he's _still_ sick."

"Did he?" Lendri had wondered where Hadj had been. Before he could think about going to find him, Teldryn spoke up.

"By the way, here's that letter I mentioned. The courier said it was from Valenwood." He handed Lendri a bent and rather creased piece of parchment, sealed with an unstamped piece of dark wax. 'Lendri' was written on the front, with 'Naia and Sondis' written smaller, in the corner.

"Oh, good. I haven't heard from them in too long. I was beginning to think they'd forgotten all about me. Or...or something." He chuckled.

"You thought they were dead."

"Yeah, I did, a little."

They found a spot in the shade behind some crates, and Lendri opened the letter while Teldryn sat next to him, reading over his shoulder and eating a pomegranate.

_'Lendri, we're so glad to hear that you're well. Everything here at the village is going on as it always has, and hopefully will for a long time to come. The tribe are all in good health and are happy more often than not. Your father says, don't worry about the Thalmor, they don't want a swampy part of the forest and even if they did the trees here would keep them out. We can't wait to see you and meet this Teldryn you mentioned. I'm glad you're happy, but I hope you've chosen wisely._  
Now there is the matter of your soul. Lendri, when you wrote us about being Dragonborn, I must say that niether of us truly understood, but it seemed, at least that you were safe. Perhaps even protected from harm now that you could wield ancient magics. But now you say you have bound your soul to Herma-Mora. Do you not remember one single tale from your childhood? Herma Mora is no woodsprite. He is a cruel and cunning old god and it will not be easy to get your soul from his grasp. We can't believe you've done this. You say you needed to do this but whatever it is, the price is too great. Old Ereven knows of a shaman, Kubwa, who lives by the deep falls and is skilled in dealings with daedra. Go to him. Your soul is not for anyone but yourself!  
Please stay out of any more trouble. 

_Naia and Sondis_

 

"I knew they'd be upset." Lendri sighed and put his head down in his hands. A gust of wind set the letter quivering away over the deck and Teldryn anchored it with his foot before it could get away.

"Well, 'Mother, Father, I sold my soul to a Daedra' is not a message you can deliver without some pain. Maybe you should have clarified that this was another thing you were doing for the sake of the world."

Lendri mumbled something into his palms that Teldryn didn't catch. "You're being awfully melodramatic about this. Did you expect them to be happy?"

Lendri looked up then. "You don't know what they're like when they're like this! They don't get mad like normal folks. They never did. They would just look at me with this quiet disappointment and it makes you feel guilt like you wouldn't believe. And when I read that letter I could just see it, the both of them, looking sad and disappointed."

"There is still half of this left, if you think it will improve your outlook any." Teldryn held out the pomegranate.

"It won't," Lendri said, taking it anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

"That's the house there, at the top of the hill." Lendri's elation was short lived. "Oh no, Teldryn, what if they hate you?"

"A little late to start worrying about that, don't you think?"

"I don't know? It'll make things awkward though, since you don't deserve to be hated."

They had arrived at the village after another month on the ship and a couple of weeks of walking through the jungle. Their progress had been considerably slowed as they grew closer by Lendri making detours to see if places he remembered were still the same, and considerably colored by the absurd tales that went with each one. Lendri's tribe lived in a sprawling, overgrown stone ruin that had perhaps been a temple complex at some point. Naia and Sondis made their home on a ridge on the western side of the village. Now Lendri and Teldryn were nearing the house.

"What if they've decided I'm no longer worthy to be their son?"

"Don't be ridiculous. If they were going to do that the letter would've said 'P.S.: Don't come back.' Take my word for it."

Lendri and Teldryn rounded the corner of the house. Two elves were sitting on the stone stairs out front.

"Hey." Lendri smiled, hesitantly.

"Lendri?"

"You're back!"

Teldryn stood to one side while all the greetings and hugging went on, feeling slightly out of place even as he rather enjoyed watching their happiness. Naia had a round face that had a peacefulness to it. Her cheeks were etched with light green tattoos and her light brown hair had been bound in a loose braid. It was clear Lendri had taken after his father, who had a clever angular face and blonde hair, though Sondis' was shot throughh with strands of silver. His face was lined in the way of one who smiled often throughout his life. Eventually they noticed the Dunmer. Sondis gave him a skeptical look, then grinned up at him mockingly (But that's _Lendri's_ grin, Teldryn thought, foolish and a little unnerved) and said,

"So who's this pretty little thing?"

Lendri looked mortified.

"Pleased to meet you," Teldryn said, trying not to smile at Lendri's expression.

Naia smiled."Well, at least you're polite. Come on you two. I think there's something leftover from dinner if you're hungry."

They all sat out back at stone bench, covered with moss so that it seemed to have grown from the ground. Over some kind of cold roast meat (Teldryn hoped in the back of his mind that it wasn't some enemy of Lendri's family) they told of the trip and of life in Skyrim and Solstheim.

"So, Skyrim. You've written, sure, but it's not the same as hearing it told," Sondis prompted.

"Where do I begin? Well, it's got mountains, they go really high up and the view is beautiful, you can see the whole world, almost, or most of Skyrim anyway. And it's cold, but, you know that. The snow is amazing! It's like feathers made of ice. But--you don't know ice, do you? It's like glass that melts into water when it gets warm. And did I ever write to you about mammoths?"

"You did. Did you ever manage to get one?"

"I did find one, a calf wandering around. But they wouldn't let me take it into Whiterun, that's one of the Nord towns, built on a mountain. So I paid to have her put up in the stable. For a while she seemed happy but she escaped the stable one night while I was gone. When I got back and there was just this big hole in the wall and they said she left because a mammoth herd was passing in the distance, calling out. Never could find her again, but she's probably better off."

"Probably. A animal that age belongs with it's mother," Naia decided. "What about the Nords. What are they like?"

"Well, tall. Broad. Pale skin, pale hair, pale eyes. Kind of interesting to look at. Loud. They like to fight but they think kicking, scratching, biting, hairpulling and elbowing are dishonorable. They're really concerned with honor. A lot of things can make you dishonorable, like sneaking up on people, stealing..."

"How do they have any kind of fight, then?," Sondis wanted to know. "They what, howl at eachother?"

Lendri considered this. "Well, that and punch eachother. They're also really into boasting and drinking. But now I'm making them sound like oafs." Lendri laughed. "They're not, not all of them anyway. They have their traditions, music and songs, and they build massive temples for their dead, who wake up, because they get bored, mostly, of lying around."

"That's not true," Teldryn interjected. "It's necromancers and old magics. The dead don't get bored."

"How would you know? You've not got any experience at it, unless you're a zombie and you've not been entirely honest with me. I think I would've noticed by now though. The worms or the ever diminishing appendages, or the lack of personality or something. But, it would explain a lot of things though too," Lendri continued wickedly. "Like the stench, and the dullness of mind."

Teldryn knit his brows at the image that brought to his mind.

"Now you're overthinking that, I can tell."

"No, I'm picturing what it would be like."

Lendri elbowed him, smirking, and Teldryn caught his expression and smiled in spite of himself. "Overthinking, like I said."

Naia cut in. "You two seem to get along well enough, after a fashion. But, I didn't expect him to be so much older."

There was an uncomfortable silence. "He's not that much older," Lendri said. "I'm not some naif being led around by my nose if that's what you're thinking."

"No, it's not. I'm wondering what _your_ intentions are, Teldryn."

"Intentions? There was never an exact plot or a course of action. I'm not manipulating him or lying about my feelings."

Naia and Sondis looked somewhat skeptical.

"He didn't just come up and seduce me. I hired him." Lendri added.

Lendri's mother put a hand over her mouth in shock. Sondis shook his head. "Really, a prostitute? You're not _that_ ugly."

"I hired him as guide, not to--not for the use of his body!" Lendri put his head down on the table in embarrassment. Teldryn patted his shoulder.

Lendri's parents laughed.

*

A few stars were showing through the canopy of the branches, and the yellow wisp lights were casting a strange soft glow over everything when they brought up what was in the back of everyone's mind. The talk had petered out and after a short while, Sondis spoke, his face suddenly grave.

"Lendri, what are you going to do about your soul?"

"Oh that," Lendri said, flustered.

"Yes, 'that'. How can you act like it means nothing?"

"That's--that's not it--"

"Why did you do this?" Naia asked. "You have always been so happy, kind, bright of spirit. The thought of you being trapped and twisted by that demon, forever...it breaks my heart."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Lendri said lamely.

"Have you taken complete leave of your senses?" Sondis asked. "How could you do this to us? More importantly, how could you do this to _yourself?_ Whatever Herma Mora promised you in return is not worth this. Nothing is worth the price you've paid."

Lendri shook his head and said nothing, looking down at the table. Why is he not telling them the truth, Teldryn wondered, wanting to blurt out everything. But Lendri's continued silence stopped him. He figured there must be a reason for it, and felt unsure about intervening.

"Answer me."

"Herma Mora had something I needed. People were going to die if I didn't get it."

"At least _their_ souls wouldn't get enslaved for all eternity. I don't think you understand just how long eternity is."

"I do understand. That's why I'm going to find a shaman and get this all straightened out."

"I pray it's as easy as you think it will be," Naia said. "I don't know what we're going to do if you can't get your soul back. It's too horrible to think about, our only child..." her voice grew unsteady and she trailed off. Sondis put an arm around her.

"I'm sorry," Lendri ventured.

Sondis gave him a long look, sorrowful and searching. "Don't apologize to us. It is yourself that you've hurt the most."

Lendri looked back down. Teldryn tried to take his hand under the table but misjudged the distance in the half dark, and ended up groping Lendri's right leg, which earned him an incredulous side long glare.

"I'm going home," Lendri said, standing abruptly. "I'll go to Kubwa tomorrow."

"Wait, where are we going?" Teldryn glanced at Naia and Sondis for a moment before getting up to follow Lendri.

"I have a place of my own. Hopefully it hasn't been turned into a den by some jaguar or boar."

Teldryn waited until the clearing where they'd talked was hidden by a curve in the road before speaking.

"Why didn't you tell them the whole truth?"

Lendri rounded on him so quick Teldryn almost ran into him. "What in Oblivion were you thinking feeling me up at a time like that, in front of _my parents,_ of all people?"

"I was trying to take your hand! I just reached too far in the dark."

"Oh, okay then, good. Nevermind." He kept walking.

"Anyway, I was asking why you didn't tell the truth."

"Well, what difference does it make, the reason? My soul is still sold no matter why I did it."

"So to your mind, you're no different from some crazed wizard who sold his soul for arcane knowledge, or some power hungry lord who sold his soul for power."

"I didn't say that."

"By saying that it makes no difference because the end result is the same, you implied--"

"Alright, so it was implied. I'm really not in the mood to argue logic or whatever it is that you're arguing right now."

"Don't get angry. I just want to understand why you only gave them half of the truth."

Lendri didn't answer. After a quarter of an hour they arrived at a small stone building with a deep river flowing by outside.

"Is this where you lived?"

"Yes. Looks like it's still empty."

There was a leather flap in front of the door, like a tent entrance. Inside a few leaves had blown in from the window, which had no pane. There were two and a half rooms, the third being partly crumbled and without a roof. One wall had collapsed and the stream could be seen. Bone chimes were strung in the window and some furs were strewn before the small, cold hearth. A few unusual rocks sat on the mantel piece, and the walls had been half painted with stylized vines and animals. They leaned their traveling gear against the wall and lay on the furs in the darkness. Outside the river flowed, quiet and musical.

"You know why I don't tell them? This is going to sound stupid."

"I'm listening."

"It feels like maybe, if they don't know about it, if no one knows about it here at home, then here I can pretend that it didn't happen. This is a place untouched by all that, and if they have to think that I'm some flighty fool to keep it that way, then, alright, that's something I can live with."

Teldryn reached for Lendri's hand and found it this time. He didn't know what to say.

"But on the other hand, I couldn't just not tell them a thing. They sort of have a right to know."

"I think I understand."

It seemed that was the end of the conversation. The Dunmer had almost fallen asleep when Lendri tugged at his hand and spoke again.

"Teldryn, what if I can't get my soul back?"

Teldryn blinked at the blackness and considered this possibility with a feeling like leaning out over a chasm. "Then when you're dead I'll go into Apocrypha and get your soul back myself. Now go to sleep."


End file.
